Whilst the wind was a cold south easterly the skies were blue and visibility was excellent as we made our way to Kilclooney Wood at the eastern edge on the Comeraghs. This walk was different in that we had a gully climb and plenty of scrambling to look forward to. Starting from the wood we ascended up the eastern ridge of Coumshingoun Lake to the plateau above the Lake and from there we crossed to Fas Coum, at 792m, the highest point in the Comeraghs, The black bog as it was totally frozen for a change.
We then made our way to the top of Mahon Falls and the base of what is known locally as Number 2 Gully. Given that much of the Mahon River was frozen we were concerned about the state of the gully but all was well and for the most part it was free of ice and it made for a wonderful scramble. There are a couple of tricky bits and it is not for beginners. Lunch was had at the top of the Gully in a nice windless area. From here we climbed to Knock an Piobaire, at 726m, and then to the eastern ridge above the Mahon river for another hour of scrambling.
The conglomerate nature of the rock makes for wonderful scrambling with lots for hand and foot holds. Having reached the southern end on the ridge we descended down and contoured north easterly to arrive back where we started in Kilclooney Wood. The walk took 6 hours with 980m ascending. Many thanks to Julie Reeves whose idea this was.
Thanks to John Cotter, Kevin Finn and Dan Mccarthy a selection of photos are available Here